KC Streetcar
The KC Streetcar is a one-route streetcar system in Kansas City, Missouri. Construction began in May 2014, and service began on May 6, 2016. The KC Streetcar is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area's integrated public transit brand RideKC, and is operated by the Kansas City Streetcar Authority. It is free to ride, as it is funded by a transportation development district., the KC Streetcar has had over 15 million rides since its opening in 2016. The initial line was long and was extended south to the University of Missouri-Kansas City in October 2025. An extension north to the riverfront is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2026. In the RideKC system, the KC Streetcar is internally designated as route 601.
History
Development
After earlier efforts to create a metro-wide or city-wide rail transit system was voted down, voters in downtown Kansas City approved funding for a two-mile streetcar line in December 2012.In December 2012, the city council awarded a contract to HDR, Inc. to complete a final design for the downtown streetcar line. HDR had previously performed preliminary engineering work. In October 2013, it was announced that Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles would build low-floor Urbos 3 streetcars for the line. Pre-construction work, utility-relocation work in preparation for the project, began in late 2013, and construction of the line began in May 2014. Construction was completed in late 2015, with the first streetcar arriving in November 2015 and testing was performed from December 2015 to May 2016.
The projected cost of the Downtown streetcar was $102 million. The majority of funds came from Special Obligation Bonds of the City of Kansas City, Missouri totaling $64 million. Construction bonds and operating costs were repaid by a special assessment and 1% sales tax collected inside a transportation development district approved by voters in 2012. Both levies are assessed only within the taxing district, which encompasses downtown neighborhoods along the streetcar route. Additional funding included a utility contribution and two federal grants totaling $17.1 million. The project received another $20 million federal grant, through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program, in August 2013. Passengers ride free of charge, as operating costs are covered by the TDD. Total construction costs were $250,000 under budget and operations costs started out under budget.
Opening
KC Streetcar operation began on May 6, 2016, at approximately 11am. The total opening Friday and Saturday ridership was over 27,000 rides, with the trains travelling. The weekend celebration for the streetcar's opening included music, a free carnival, fireworks, and coordinated specials at businesses. Bus service and bike share service was free to correspond with the launch. City officials stated the line exceeded their expectations, with over 100,000 rides in the first two weeks, and one million rides after 5 months.Following initial high ridership, two additional streetcars were ordered from CAF to service demand. The line celebrated 5 million rides in September 2018. On July 5, 2019, the streetcar set a one day ridership record, with 15,559 rides.
The COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted ridership, which dropped by two-thirds to just 2,148 daily rides in 2020. In 2021, ridership levels recovered, but to levels lower than before the pandemic. The line celebrated 10 million rides in April 2022. During the 2023 NFL draft three-day weekend in April 2023, nearly 60,000 rides were taken and a one day ridership record was set on April 27, with 21,601 riders. In December 2023, KC Streetcar noted that demand had recovered to 95% of pre-pandemic levels on weekends, and 80% on weekdays.
Extensions
Expansion planning began in 2014. Two studies covered one line north, crossing the Missouri River and eight lines heading east, west and south from downtown. A ballot proposition in August 2014 to add three new rail lines and an improved bus line failed 40%–60%. A grassroots effort to revisit expansion using the same legal structure as the starter line was funded by the private sector.South to UMKC
In August 2017, voters approved the formation of a transportation development district to help fund the construction and operating cost of an extension south towards UMKC. In December 2020, the Federal Transit Administration announced it had awarded $174 million for the extension, with the remaining $177 million of funding coming from the expanded TDD. Groundbreaking occurred on April 6, 2022. In July 2023, Mayor of Kansas City Quinton Lucas called for transit-only lanes on Main Street as part of the work. On August 17, 2024, streetcars drove south of Pershing Road for the first time since 1957 during track testing for the new line. The new track was fully connected with the original track on October 22, 2024. The extension to UMKC opened on October 24, 2025.North to Riverfront
In August 2017, the KC Port Authority announced plans to extend the line north from the River Market toward the Missouri River, connecting to Berkley Riverfront Park and the Kansas City Current soccer stadium. The extension would be funded by the KC Port Authority, as well as by federal TIGER funding. In December 2020, $14.2 million was awarded by the FTA towards the extension, with additional funding required from local sources. A groundbreaking ceremony for the project took place on March 1, 2024, with completion anticipated to be in 2026.Route
The downtown streetcar runs along a route between the River Market and University of Missouri-Kansas City running through the central business district and the Crossroads, mostly along Main Street. KC Streetcar makes stops about every two blocks in Downtown and every four blocks south of there, with 18 designated stops. On Main Street south of Union Station, KC Streetcar uses transit-only lanes. It connects directly with Amtrak, local and commuter RideKC bus services and several RideKC bike-share kiosks. Proponents tout the initial segment as one of the simplest and straightest modern streetcar routes in the United States.Stations
All platforms offer level boarding and real-time arrival information.| Station | Directions | Location |
| UMKC | 2-way | 51st Street & Brookside Boulevard |
| Plaza | 2-way | Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard & Brookside Boulevard |
| Art Museums | 2-way | 45th Street & Main Street |
| Southmoreland | 2-way | 43rd Street & Main Street |
| Westport | 2-way | 39th Street & Main Street |
| Armour | 2-way | 35th Street & Main Street |
| Union Hill | 2-way | 31st Street & Main Street |
| WW1 Museum & Memorial | 2-way | 27th Street & Main Street |
| Union Station | 2-way | Pershing Road & Main Street |
| Crossroads | 2-way | 19th Street & Main Street |
| Kauffman Center | 2-way | 16th Street & Main Street |
| Power & Light | 2-way | 14th Street & Main Street |
| Metro Center | 2-way | 12th Street & Main Street |
| Library | 2-way | 9th Street & Main Street |
| North Loop | 2-way | 7th Street & Main Street |
| City Market | 1-way | 5th Street & Walnut Street |
| River Market North | 1-way | 3rd Street & Grand Boulevard |
| River Market West | 1-way | 3rd Street & Delaware Street |
Ridership
The line was originally projected to have a daily average ridership of just 2,700. Average yearly ridership levels have been around double this figure. The streetcar is free to ride, and is funded by the local transportation development district. Ridership is calculated by the use of automatic, anonymous passenger counters at each streetcar door – with manual checks to ensure accuracy. Per mile, the streetcar has higher ridership than other major transit lines such as the Muni Metro in San Francisco, California or METRORail in Houston, Texas. In 2023, KC Streetcar had 2,281 average daily boardings per mile, compared to 1,924 for Muni Metro in San Francisco and 1,705 for METRORail in Houston.| Ridership | Average daily ridership | Cumulative ridership | |
| 2016 | 1,399,153 | 5,830 | 1,399,153 |
| 2017 | 2,072,367 | 5,645 | 3,459,480 |
| 2018 | 2,114,717 | 5,794 | 5,574,366 |
| 2019 | 2,228,942 | 6,107 | 7,808,818 |
| 2020 | 782,556 | 2,148 | 8,601,264 |
| 2021 | 1,061,105 | 2,910 | 9,662,369 |
| 2022 | 1,534,897 | 4,205 | 11,197,266 |
| 2023 | 1,832,215 | 5,020 | 13,029,481 |
| 2024 | 1,856,129 | 4,393 | 14,885,610 |
Rolling stock
In October 2013, the mayor announced that the system will use 100% low-floor Urbos 3 streetcars made by the American subsidiary of Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles in Elmira Heights, New York. The streetcars are numbered following the order set up by the original Kansas City Public Service Company numbering system.The first streetcar arrived in Kansas City on November 2, 2015, with testing beginning on November 6. Following initial high ridership, two additional streetcars were ordered from CAF in June 2017 at a cost of $12 million. Car 805 arrived on May 13, 2019, and entered service on July 1, 2019. Car 806 arrived on August 26, 2019.
As part of the expansion of the line south, 8 additional streetcars were ordered from CAF, doubling the size of the fleet to 14. The first of the expanded fleet arrived in February 2024, and began testing soon after. In December 2024, the last of the additional streetcars arrived in Kansas City. The additional streetcars have minor improvements including improved video surveillance and on-board passenger information.